


falling from grace, fading without trace

by rq_maybe



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: F/F, Kayfabe Compliant, also this is angsty as hell, gut wrenching angst and woe, like maybe the angstiest thing i ever wrote, there are mentions of the fake 4hw here, toughest thing i ever wrote so y'all should read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 03:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16360085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rq_maybe/pseuds/rq_maybe
Summary: after a feud that broke them both, where do becky and charlotte go?





	falling from grace, fading without trace

**Author's Note:**

> the wwe is never going to give us the long-form storytelling that we deserve from this feud, so here is my take on it: a treatise on how to (not) fix the relationship, which may or may not be irrevocably broken at this point
> 
> the title is from session road's leaving you.

_ WrestleMania 35 _

Becky stumbled backstage, awkwardly holding on to her shoulder. She had just tapped out to the Asuka Lock, losing the SmackDown Women’s Title that she had cherished so dearly over the past few months. 

It had been a hell of a match, grueling and exhausting. Ultimately Asuka had caught her, and she ran out of counters. She tapped in the middle of the ring.

“You okay?” 

Becky looked up to see Sasha Banks and Bayley, their women’s tag team belts shining on their shoulders. The Boss’N’Hug connection looked at their fellow Horsewoman in concern. 

“Ey, Sash, Bay,” Becky rasped out. “Yeah. I’m gonna be fine. Sucks to lose but… yeah.”

“Asuka is still a hell of a fighter. And your match was incredible, Becky, you were so good,” Sasha said. 

“That means a lot coming from you, Boss.”

Becky nodded at the tag team belts. “Congrats, by the way.” The pair had made a successful defense against The Iiconics earlier that night.

Sasha and Bayley beamed. “Thanks,” said Bayley. “Hey, wanna watch the rest of the show with us? We’ll just be at catering.”

Becky nodded. “Yeah lemme just… get checked out and then changed,” she said.

The doctors cleared her soon after, recommending only that she iced her shoulder and back, which Becky already knew to do, anyway. She limped to the women’s locker room — Asuka had targeted her legs before finally going to her pet submission move — and barged in.

Inside, the women eyed her warily. Becky had ruled SmackDown’s women’s division with an iron fist since winning at Hell in a Cell. She had been nothing short of brutal to Charlotte Flair, both in the ring and out, and she had been as vicious to the other girls as well. The years of pent-up frustration bled out of Becky over the past months, and she took it out first on her former best friend, and when she was done she turned her sights on everyone else.

But now Becky felt dry. There was nothing left in her. She had lost her title. None of these women inside the locker room was her friend, not after all she had done in the past months. She winced as she remembered how she had veritably terrorized Charlotte after winning the title. All that she said, and did.

Oh, she was not regretful. Becky believed still that Charlotte deserved everything, that Charlotte had held her back ever since she came to SmackDown, that Charlotte had taken advantage of every situation they found themselves in. 

And it wasn’t as though Charlotte didn’t get her licks in. Their feud had taken a turn for the dangerous after Super Showdown, with chairs and ladders and kendo sticks and tables coming into play. Even now, Becky could still feel the sting in her back when Charlotte repeatedly whacked her with a kendo stick during their historic TLC match.

Yet even now, she could also remember the sobs that Charlotte had let out when she did it.

Becky, the dethroned champ, ignored the stares of the women as she went to her cubicle and began yanking out toiletries and clothes. None of these girls mattered to her, anyway. She had beaten all of them over the past few months, and if she needed to, she’ll do it again. Besides, she still had Sasha and Bayley by her side. They had been on her side right from the start, as she knew they would. She knew both still harbored lingering resentment against Charlotte.

And speaking of the devil…

Charlotte had been the lone woman to blatantly ignore Becky’s dramatic entrance to the locker room. The tall blonde chose instead to focus on her gear, preparing for her match later that night. After getting beaten by Becky for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Charlotte looked to bounce back in the women’s Royal Rumble. She was immediately a target, but the Queen — who entered at No. 2 — dug deep and outlasted everyone.

Everyone thought she would challenge Becky. But truthfully, Charlotte no longer had it in her heart to fight her former friend. ( _ Were they ever really friends?  _ She wondered.) Over the past months, she fought Becky enough times to last her entire lifetime.

At first, she had been reluctant. She had not wanted to accept that something inside Becky had changed, that her beautiful, bright, beaming friend could ever have this much ugliness inside her. Charlotte could not believe that Becky had this much capacity for hate and rage, and she hated that it was her who triggered that awful transformation.

Because of that, Charlotte had been hesitant at first. Maybe, she could still yank out the last remaining shreds of goodness inside Becky, if only she tried hard enough.

But the other woman resisted everything. She grew progressively meaner and angrier, and Charlotte  _ knew _ she had to fight back lest she got burned by the inferno that was Becky.

The ensuing months had taken a massive toll on both of them, but at least Charlotte got a WrestleMania match out of it. The SmackDown after Royal Rumble, she looked Becky in the eyes and declared: “I’m done with you.” A week later, she made a surprise appearance on RAW and challenged Ronda Rousey.

Becky had been, in a word, incensed. How  _ dare _ Charlotte not challenge her. This was an insult of the highest order. Was she implying that Ronda was more worthy of attention? Charlotte didn’t know how to explain to Becky that she was just so tired, so tired of having to fight a woman that she had loved for so long, that perhaps she loved still. She didn’t know how to explain that this was her way of letting Becky go, and perhaps, of letting  _ herself _ go, of setting herself free from the clutches of hope that still stubbornly clung to her heart.

So, she fired back. “Of course she’s more worthy. She’s Ronda Rousey. Together we will main event WrestleMania, and leave you in the dust.”

Becky had chuckled at that, then proceeded to throw a haymaker at Charlotte. The entire women’s locker room spilled out to separate them. It had been the last time they shared a ring.

Tonight, the biggest nights of their careers, they ignored each other. Charlotte achingly remembered last year’s Mania, when Becky held her so tenderly before her match against Asuka, and assured her that everything will be fine. And in the aftermath, the Irish woman had been the first to embrace her when she got in the back; Charlotte remembered collapsing into Becky’s arms and just succumbing to tears.

There would be plenty of tears tonight, she knew, but no embraces. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Becky entered the showers, then breathed a sigh of relief.

*

“Did I miss anything?”

“Nah, they’re just about to show the video package,” Sasha said.

Becky sat down beside Bayley, wincing as she put pressure on her hip. Sasha sighed sympathetically, then handed her an ice pack. “Here,” the Boss said. “Knew you’d need that.”

“Thanks Sash.”

The production team outdid itself with the video package for Charlotte and Ronda. They sold Rousey as the dominant champion, and Charlotte as the vulnerable challenger who was nevertheless as dangerous as ever — perhaps because of how vulnerable she was. Becky knew with some certainty that Charlotte was at her most dangerous when she was being doubted.

Ronda repeatedly promised to break Charlotte’s arm, but Charlotte only responded with a dry, bitter laugh that had no humor in it.

“I fought an armbar specialist for months, Ronda,” she said. “There is nothing you can do that she hasn’t already done to me. Nothing you can do will hurt me.”

“She left me numb. Maybe kicking your ass will make me feel,” Charlotte concluded in the softest of voices.

Becky was silent. Beside her, Sasha and Bayley muttered, “Damn.”

Charlotte’s WrestleMania entrances were always epic, and this one was no different. Becky sat up straight, and gasped as Charlotte made her appearance. She was in all white, her gear sparkling as though studded with diamonds. Her robe could only be described as opulent; Becky wondered how many swans gave up their feathers to make it.

And to cap everything off - literally - she was wearing a crown. Not a tiara — an actual crown.

“The Queen is here,” Sasha murmured.

Becky paid no attention to Ronda’s entrance, focusing instead on Charlotte. She had done her usual cartwheel to the ring, and when she winked, Becky realized that she had put gemstones around her eyes like she used to do a couple of years ago. 

“She’s going to get it done,” Becky whispered to herself. “I know it.”

For all of her faults, Ronda remained a truly strong woman, and there was a reason they called her the Baddest Woman on the Planet. She showed off her strength and tossed Charlotte around early, but Becky knew from experience that sooner or later, Charlotte’s size advantage and sheer power would come into play. True enough, a big boot from the Queen caught Ronda off guard around six minutes into the match, and it was a more even playing field after that.

Ronda, as expected, went to her comfort zone -- the submission game. But try as she might, she could not get Charlotte into the position for an armbar. Charlotte ducked, slipped, and out-maneuvered her way out of every hold that Ronda tried. She kept the fight near the ropes, just in case. When she did get caught, very briefly, in a lock hold, Charlotte immediately grabbed hold of the bottom rope to force a break.

“Her game plan is airtight,” Bayley said, sounding impressed.

Nothing Ronda did was working, and it was clear the RAW Women’s Champion was getting frustrated.

_ I fought an armbar specialist for months _

Charlotte unloaded a series of chops on Ronda, wooing every time.

_ There is nothing you can do that she hasn’t already done to me _

Charlotte blocked Ronda’s attempt at an uppercut, but ate a forearm to the face for her troubles. She staggered for a bit, and Becky let out a soft gasp.

_ Nothing you can do will hurt me _

Ronda whips Charlotte across the ring, then lands a clothesline. Simple, but effective. It was clear the former UFC champion was adjusting.

_ She left me numb _

But no one was better than Charlotte when it came to making in-ring adjustments, especially when it came to big matches such as this one. A kip-up got her back to her feet, and she bounced off the ropes to spear Rousey.

_ Maybe kicking your ass will make me feel _

For the first time all night, Charlotte managed to set up Ronda for the Figure 8. And there it was -- the panic on Ronda’s face. Becky, Bayley, and Sasha all knew the feeling of helplessness one gets when stuck in that submission move, how Charlotte squeezed and squeezed until it felt as though your knee was about to shatter from the pressure.

“Not the way I’d want to get in between Charlotte’s legs, I’ll tell you that,” Becky had said the first time she tapped to it, all those years ago back in NXT. Charlotte had blushed, Sasha had smirked, and Bayley had rolled her eyes.

Ronda was very clearly in pain, and they were in the center of the ring. As good as she was, Ronda clearly didn’t have the experience needed to reverse the hold, nor the wherewithal to make it to the ropes. Becky knew she was about to tap.

And that was when all hell broke loose, because Shayna Baszler appeared from out of nowhere to smash a chair right on Charlotte’s stomach. Two of their other friends -- what were their names again? Jessamyn something? Marina? -- were rushing to the ring as well.

The bell rang, and boos were raining from the crowd. Bayley and Sasha were already on their feet and running out of catering.

Becky stood up. 

She stared at the carnage going on in the ring, as Charlotte found herself surrounded by four women who clearly wanted to hurt her.

Becky tossed the ice pack to the ground. Ignoring the pain in her hips and shoulders, she began to run.

*

When she got to the ramp, she could see that Sasha and Bayley were trying to pull Charlotte away, but it was still a 4-on-3 situation. Becky heard the crowd gasp when she made her entrance. She could almost  _ hear _ the questions -- was she there to pile more harm on Charlotte?

Ignoring everyone’s stares, Becky grabbed a steel chair from under the ring. She slid under the bottom rope, looked Charlotte in the eye, then proceeded to whack the chair across Jessamyn Duke’s back. The fake horsewoman crumbled to the mat. Becky hit Marina Shafir next, then turned her attention to Baszler.

“I was enjoying that match, you dumb bitch,” Becky muttered, then smashed the chair into Baszler’s back, too.

Ronda looked terrified. Her cohorts were down, and she was far from 100% after taking a beating from Charlotte all match long. “I’m leaving, Becky, I didn’t want any trouble,” she said, tugging on Baszler’s arm. “Come on.”

Becky dropped the chair.

She paid no attention to Ronda as she dragged her friends from the ring, the crowd showering them with boos as they made their way up the ramp.

Sasha and Bayley were helping Charlotte up. The tall blonde was breathing heavily, and looked apprehensively at Becky. 

Becky stared back, steadfast, unblinking. 

There was no reason for her to be in this ring anymore, Becky thought. This was not her time, not her moment. She’d done what she needed to do.

And so, she looked at Charlotte, and nodded. She knew that Bayley and Sasha would take care of her once they got backstage. Charlotte nodded back.

She slid out of the ring as smoothly as she entered it. She walked up the ramp, not caring about the reaction of the crowd. She closed her eyes as she pushed through the curtain.

*

_ Later _

This was always their spot. An empty corner of the parking lot. Charlotte wasn’t surprised to find Becky waiting for her there.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Charlotte said.

“Neither do I,” Becky replied.

“That’d be a first,” Charlotte muttered.

They refused to look at each other. Charlotte tightened her grip on her bag, while Becky balled her hands into fists.

“I’m staying at RAW,” Charlotte said, finally. “I’m going to get Ronda.”

“I’m staying at SmackDown,” Becky replied. “I have a rematch with Asuka.”

Silence, once more.

“I’m not going to apologize,” Becky said. “For one thing, I don’t deserve any forgiveness, and for another, I’m really not sorry.”

Charlotte let out a weak chuckle at that. “Is that it, then?” she asked.

Becky shrugged. “Just thought I’d put it out there.”

Charlotte sighed deeply. “I’m tired, Becky. No -- I’m exhausted. I just want to get back to the hotel.” For the first time, she looked at her former best friend. “We’re done here, right?”

Becky looked like she wanted to say something more. She had waited for hours for Charlotte at this spot, and over that time she had thought over and over again about what she wanted to say. She had a whole speech planned, to be honest. But she knew that Charlotte would not want to hear it.

She stood up.

Charlotte closed her eyes, and braced for impact.

But what she felt was not a punch, or a shove, or anything of the sort. 

There was nothing.

“I’ll see you around,” Becky said softly. 

Charlotte’s eyes were still closed. She heard Becky begin walking, and didn’t open her eyes until the other woman’s footsteps had faded.

“Goodbye, Becky.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! find me on tumblr at rebeccaquinoa


End file.
